Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Trinity Term 1 > Birds II: Adaptation and Ecology of Birds > Flashcards

Birds II: Adaptation and Ecology of Birds Flashcards

1
Q

Describe the structure of a feather

A
  • vane and afterfeather
  • pennaceous section and plumaceous section
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Describe the vane

A
  • open pennaceous portion
  • closed pennaceous portion
  • plumulaceous portion
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Describe the afterfeather

A
  • aftervane
  • aftershaft
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Describe the pennaceous section

A
  • barbs
  • mechanical strutcure
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Describe the plumaceous section

A
  • rachis
  • calamus
  • insulating
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

List some feather types:

A
  • wing
  • down
  • tail
  • contour
  • semiplume
  • bristle
  • filoplume
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Describe the movement of barbicels in proximal barbules

A

allows great flexibility as well as integrity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

barbicels

A

distal hooklets

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Describe a barb

A
  • proximal barbule
  • dorsal flange
  • barb ramus
  • distal barbule
  • base and penulum
  • hooklet
  • barb ramus
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Describe modification of microstructure

A

typically modifies characteristics associated with thermal properties, waterproofing, aerodynamics

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Describe modification of macrostructure

A

typically modifies structural, or directly functional, properties of feathers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Discuss the variation of secondary feathers

A
  • Laysan Albatross: 40
  • Rufous Hummingbird: 6
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

How many primary feathers are there?

A

9-11

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Describe silent flight in owls

A
  • serrated leading edge
  • long, filamentous barbs on trailing edge
  • break up larger air vortices over wing into many smaller ones
  • reduces air turbulence and sound produced
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Woodpeckers

A
  • highly thickened rachis in tail feathers as an additional support
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Give some sexually displaying birds

A
  • Marvellous Spatuletail (hummingbird)
  • Standard-winged Nightjar
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What are the consequences of feathers for bird evolution?

A
  • annual cycle governed by the need to replace feathers during moults
  • diversity of shapes, forms, structures and colours that feathers allow as complex colour vision facilitate high rates of speciation
  • worldwide dispersal: migration to exploit ephemeral and seasonal habitats worldwide
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

List some biochrome pigments

A
  • melanins
  • carotenoids
  • porphyrins
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Describe biochrome pigments

A

some have functions such as melanin and wear

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Describe melanins

A
  • black
  • brown
  • rufous
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Describe carotenoids

A
  • from diet
  • yellow
  • orange
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Describe porphyrins

A
  • green
  • purple
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Describe structural colours

A

alteration of incident light, e.g. by coherent scattering from nm-scale particles

24
Q

Describe bird evolution

A
  • 4 types of feather structure have been found in theropod dinosaurs that
    are not found in birds
  • all current types also found
  • developmental pathways that control feather development are homologous to those that control scale & hair development
  • feathers are the default state in birds
  • feather-like structures described from Pterosaurs
25
Q

Pterosaurs

A

non-dinosaurian reptiles

26
Q

Describe the feather development pathway

A
  • expression of Fibroblast growth Factor (FGF) and Sonic hedgehog (Shh)
  • development of epidermal placodes into denticles, scales, feathers and hair
27
Q

Describe the development of an odontode

A
  • wnt then Eda-Edar
  • FGF then Shh
  • epidermis = enamelled
  • dermis = dentine
28
Q

Describe the development of a Squamate scale

A
  • wnt then Eda-Edar
  • FGF then Shh
  • epidermis: CBPs and K
29
Q

Describe the development of a feather

A
  • wnt then Eda-Edar
  • FGF then Shh
  • epidermis: CBPs and K
30
Q

Describe the development of a hair

A
  • wnt then Eda-Edar
  • FGF then Shh
  • epidermis: KAPs and cys-rich K
31
Q

Beak structure is an exceptionally good guide to

A

feeding specialization

32
Q

List some birds with interesting beaks

A
  • flamingo
  • shoveler
  • avocet
  • curlew
  • mallard
  • African skimmer
  • macaw
  • wren
  • heron
  • eagle
  • swift
  • crossbar
  • green woodpecker
33
Q

Describe ecological partitioning by beak size & shape

A
  • probers go deep to shallow
  • surface feeders go small to large
  • pickers
  • sweepers
34
Q

Describe adaptive radiation of finches

A
  • species evolving to exploit vacant niches
  • niches suggested by variation in beak size and shape
35
Q

List the different food sources of Darwin’s finches

A
  • fruit
  • insects
  • cacti
  • seeds
36
Q

Describe the different bills of Darwin’s finches

A
  • parrot-like
  • grasping
  • probing
  • crushing
37
Q

Delineate Darwin’s finches

A
  • tree finches
  • warbler finch
  • ground finches
38
Q

List Darwin’s fruit eating tree finch of a pattor-like bill

A

Vegetarian tree finch

39
Q

List Darwin’s insect eating tree finches of grasping bills

A
  • large insectivorous tree finch
  • small insectivorous tree finch
40
Q

List Darwin’s insect eating tree finches of probing bills

A
  • wioodpecker finch
  • warbler finch
41
Q

Describe Darwin’s cactus eating ground finch with a probing bill

A

Cactus ground finch

42
Q

Describe Darwin’s seed eating ground finches with crushing bills

A
  • sharp-beaked ground finch
  • small ground finch
  • medium ground finch
  • large ground finch
43
Q

Describe the genetic roots of Darwin’s finch radiation

A
  • expression patterns of Calmodulin
  • over-expression in chick embryos causes elongated bill morphology
44
Q

Describe long distance movement through flight

A

a key adaptive feature of birds

45
Q

Describe bird migratory capacity

A
  • non-stop: 7008-11680 km
  • 5.0 to 9.4 days
  • 1067-1480 km day-1
  • 8-10x higher metabolic rate continuously
  • no sleep
46
Q

Give some migratory birds

A
  • Bar-tailed Godwit
  • Arctic Terns
  • common cuckoo
  • red-back shriked
  • thrush nightingale
47
Q

Describe migration

A
  • response to seasonality: allows exploitation of seasonal variation in productivity
  • reflect the evolutionary history, and past effect of climate on a species
48
Q

Describe Arctic Tern migration

A
  • exploitation of daily solar energy flux
49
Q

List 3 migration phenomena

A
  • leapfrog migrations
  • migratory divides
  • ‘non-adaptive’ migratory routes
50
Q

Describe leapfrog migration

A
  • northern populations winter furthest south
  • species breeding range spread progressively northward
  • have to migrate further south to find unoccupied wintering areas
  • almost all long-distance migrants show similar pattern
51
Q

Give an example of leapfrog migration

A

swallow in Europe; N Scandinavian populations winter furthest south in Africa

52
Q

Describe migratory divide

A
  • population shows split in migration direction
  • hypothesis: species existed in two refugia in last glaciation
  • current pattern an evolutionary relic of migration patterns evolved during last glaciation
53
Q

Give an example of migratory divide

A
  • Willow warbler
  • one in SW Europe, one in SE Europe
54
Q

Describe ‘non-adaptive’ migratory routes

A

species migrating unnecessarily far

55
Q

Describe non-adaptive wheateater migration

A
  • colonisation of eastern N America from the East
  • colonisation of western N America from the West
  • 18000km (as opposed to 11000)
56
Q

Describe Blackcap migration - the basics

A
  • common migrant to the UK and much of Europe
  • breeds in summer
  • migrates to N Africa in winter
    -insectivorous in summer; frugivorous in winter
  • migratory timing & direction strongly inherited
  • rather than migrating SW, migrating NW

Trinity Term 1 (38 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions